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The Post Op Appointment

Micah had an ENT appointment today, and they tested his hearing for the first time since his major ear tube surgery at the end of April. Right up front, it was determined that his ear is still tender inside from the enlargement of the ear canal. Micah made sure that we all knew that. I feel really bad for the (not so) little guy since it was 2 whole months ago that surgery happened.

After an initial peek into his ears, we waited for the hearing test to be administered. Since Micah left his iPad at home, he entertained himself with a blue plastic glove that normally freaks him out when staff wear them. Apparently, blowing them up to make a balloon is not scary at all. Although I'm impressed with his newfound blowing skills (rather than just slobbering on the end of a balloon, then handing it to me to blow up), I was also impressed that he didn't pass out from the effort. The fact that a glove has a large end and allows air to escape easily was a hindrance to making a hand balloon, but certainly not a deterrent. He succeeded, by golly, and I helped him tie it off. He then proceeded to give me high fives with it, and we counted on it's fingers. And then he decided to hold all the fingers down except one and use it as a pointer to poke at this and that and everything else. It was the middle finger that he was waving around with abandon.

In the sound room, Micah sat like a trooper for his tympanogram. He wasn't any too happy that they repeated the reading in his left ear three times, but he sat nonetheless. And then he went into the sound booth all by himself and didn't insist that I come along. My baby is growing up. After only 12 years, he's going it alone. *sniff*
The results of the sound booth test were the same as the tympanogram, and neither were good. Micah's right ear is hearing and responding and doing all the things that a perfectly working ear should. His left ear, however, is not so much. His left ear is the one that had the cartilage grommet inserted and the ear canal widened. The one that should practically be bionic at this point. His hearing level is, in fact, WORSE than when his ear tube was out in March and we determined that he needed another set of tubes again.

There was wax in his ear, blocking the doctor from actually visualizing the tube, and we're hoping that said amount of copious wax is also plugging the tube and preventing sound from entering all the working ear parts. We're also praying that's the case. Because of the sensitivity of his ear from surgery, we didn't subject him to a cleaning, but instead will administer drops for a week now, and a week before his next appointment in a month. In the meantime, please pray with us that wax is just an incredible sound blocker, because I'd be a little bit sick if that tube is out. Or worse; that he lost his hearing in that ear.